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Timeline › 2023 › May › 17

May 17, 2023

6 entries on this date.

Florida Gov. DeSantis signed HB 1521 restricting facility access to birth sex and mandating birth-sex prison placement

On May 17, 2023, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed HB 1521, the "Facility Requirements Based on Sex" act, requiring restrooms and changing facilities in schools, colleges, and government buildings to be designated for exclusive use by a person's sex assigned at birth. The law makes willful entry into a facility for the opposite sex, plus refusal to leave when asked, a criminal trespass, and requires domestic-violence shelters and correctional facilities to house people by birth sex rather than gender identity. Enacted as Chapter 2023-106, it took effect July 1, 2023.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed HB 1069, extending classroom gender-identity restrictions through grade 8 and mandating sex-based pronoun rules

On May 17, 2023, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed CS/CS/HB 1069 into law, expanding the state's 2022 "Parental Rights in Education" law by extending its restriction on classroom instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity from grades K-3 through grade 8. The law defines sex in the state education code as an immutable biological trait, bars teachers and school employees from providing students their preferred pronouns or titles when inconsistent with their sex, and prohibits requiring students or staff to use pronouns that do not correspond to a person's sex. It also broadened the process for challenging school library and instructional materials.

Florida Gov. DeSantis signed SB 254 banning gender-affirming care for minors and letting courts seize custody over such care

On May 17, 2023, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed CS/SB 254, "Treatments for Sex Reassignment" (Chapter 2023-90), prohibiting gender-affirming prescriptions and procedures for patients under 18 and barring public entities from spending state funds on such care. The law also grants Florida courts temporary emergency jurisdiction over a child present in the state who has been or may be subjected to such care, and defines being subjected to it as "serious physical harm" for child-custody enforcement. DeSantis signed the measure alongside related bills at a ceremony at a Tampa evangelical school.

Florida Gov. DeSantis signed SB 1438 restricting minors' access to drag and 'adult live' performances

On May 17, 2023, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed SB 1438, the "Protection of Children" act, creating criminal penalties and business-licensing sanctions for admitting minors to "adult live performances." Though facially neutral, the law was framed and widely understood as targeting drag performances and LGBTQ+ expression, and Orlando's Hamburger Mary's sued within days. DeSantis signed the measure at a Christian school in Tampa during the 2023 regular legislative session.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed SB0466, shielding public-school employees who refuse transgender students' pronouns

On May 17, 2023, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed SB0466 into law as Public Chapter 448, specifying that a teacher or other public-school employee is not required to refer to a student by a preferred pronoun inconsistent with the student's sex assigned at birth. The law insulates employees from civil liability and adverse employment action for instead using the pronoun consistent with that biological sex, taking effect immediately on signing.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed SB1443/HB727 requiring parental opt-in consent for LGBTQ curriculum and school club membership

On May 17, 2023, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed SB1443/HB727 into law as Public Chapter 353, after the Senate passed it 25-5 and the House 74-24. The law requires a student's parent or guardian (or the student, if 18 or older) to give written opt-in consent before the student receives instruction of a "sexual orientation curriculum or gender identity curriculum," and separately bars any minor from joining or participating in any school club without prior dated, written parental consent. The club-consent provision, added by floor amendment, functions as a forced-outing mechanism for students who wish to join LGBTQ-support clubs such as Gender-Sexuality Alliances.